Honey – Is it a Good for Diabetes?

I went to my doctor for a regular diabetes checkup last Friday. I do it every 3 months. My A1c was 5.9 three months ago and was lowest for the past 10 years. I was shocked that it went up to 6.3!

Honestly, 5.9 was a surprise three months ago, but 6.3 is really a disappointment. Nevertheless I have to admit that 6.3 is still not that bad. I just wonder what made the change. I may need to do something to monitor it. When I was home that night, my wife reminded me that I started to put a teaspoon of honey in my morning coffee a few weeks ago!

Honey as a Sweetener

Actually, before I use it as a sweetener, I did some research on whether it is good and suitable for me. Opinions were quite varied. Some say sugar is sugar and it is not better or worse than other sugars. Some say that it is sweeter than white sugar and contain fructose, so it is not good for diabetes. Of course there are opposite opinions and believe that it is safe to take just one teaspoon every day. More extremely, some even say that it is a good sweetener and is beneficiary to all people because it has anti-oxidant.

Right, it is natural and has anti-oxidant and is definitely good for healthy persons. I tended to believe that one teaspoon should not be a major issue for me and decided to give a try. But I wonder if I was correct now.

Studies

I finally found an article on a clinic trial investigating
the its effect on type 2 diabetes patients. A raise in A1c was observed in
general after 8 weeks. Therefore the article said cautious consumption is
recommended.

However, I also found another article regarding another clinical
study. The study said that pure honey is a healthier choice on diabetic diet
than table sugar or sweeteners. It requires lower levels of insulin compared to regular sugar and
does not raise blood sugar levels as rapidly. In other word it has a lower
glycemic index than sugar.

It seems that there is no absolute answer yet on whether it is good for diabetics. It is still not clear if the change of my A1c is directly related to the change or if it due to other factors. Honestly, I like its taste in my coffee. I would keep using it as sweetener, but would use smaller amount, may be half of what it is.